A swampdonkey discovery

[Jeff]

It's been decided that we can't let this information out. 

[Okrafarmer]

It's been decided that we can't let this information out. 

Well, thanks for being so noncommittal!  :D Or maybe I should say secretive.  ;D

[Mooseherder]

I put these in my pocket while driving by on the lawnmower.
Had I waited for another pass by they probably would have disappeared from sight.


 

[Jeff]

It's been decided that we can't let this information out. 

Well, thanks for being so noncommittal!  :D Or maybe I should say secretive.  ;D

Or, it could be, be it ever so unlikely, that I just don't know.  ;)

[Okrafarmer]

It's been decided that we can't let this information out. 

Well, thanks for being so noncommittal!  :D Or maybe I should say secretive.  ;D

Or, it could be, be it ever so unlikely, that I just don't know.  ;)

Whoa.    Astounding!

Erm, well, maybe the Swampster knows something about it?

[SwampDonkey]

I think they taste better than filberts. But one is just a shrub that grows in a clump and the other is more tree like. I can tell ya those beaked hazel whips are hard fibre, need a sharp saw blade. I'm surprised no one has cultivated them in rows like raspberries by now. Mow between the rows. Now that I have a tractor and a bush hog on the list next year.................hmmmm. ;)

[Clark]

Still nobody said whether these hazlenuts are related to the commercially grown ones. Or I missed it.

That's a good question and I had to do some digging to get to the bottom of it.

From what I've found, commercial hazelnuts are grown on cultivars of Corylus avellana. It's a variety native to Europe and Asia. The two vareties in N. America, C. cornuta and C. americana are not currently used for commercial production but there is research going into crosses between either of those and the European variety.

From what I saw of pictures online, it is pretty obvious why the European variety is used commercially. The husk looks to be much more delicate then either N. American variety.

I doubt that anyone has found a C. cornuta or C. americana that is of small tree size or form. That's not the nature of the plant. Now, witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) is very similar but blooms in the fall and can reach 3-4" dbh, taking on "small tree" form.

Clark

[CJennings]

C. americana can form a tiny tree about 12 feet tall or so (I guess some might still call that a shrub however). I've seen this form of it. But beaked hazel is much more common where I'm from (Vermont). I think the nuts of both are better than the commercial variety. There were almost none this year in my usual spots.